


Operation: Finding Family

by nothingeverlost



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 04:04:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothingeverlost/pseuds/nothingeverlost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Henry had gone to New York instead of Boston?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation: Finding Family

“Are you Neal Cassidy?” Neal returned to his apartment to find a kid sitting in front of his door, a book open on his lap.

“You look a little young to be an insurance salesman, kid. Selling magazines for school or something?” He didn’t need any magazines, but foresaw a copy of Time magazine in his future. He wasn’t good at saying no to kids; it had been a tough couple of years after he’d gotten out of Neverland, and he knew what a couple of bucks could mean.

“I’m not selling anything. I’m kind of thirsty, though. Do you have any juice?” The kid stood and moved out of the doorway, but not far.

“Pretty sure the only thing in my fridge to drink is beer, and you can’t have any of that. I’ll get you a glass of water.” He was the last person to think that just because someone looked like a kid they were harmless, but he wasn’t going to leave him alone in a New York apartment hallway, and it’d been a couple of decades since a kid had attacked him. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” There was something about the boy’s grin. Neal wasn’t sure why it was so familiar; there weren’t any kids living in the building, except a baby on the second floor he sometimes heard crying. “You gonna tell me why you’re looking for me, if you’re not selling something?”

“My name’s Henry.” Neal didn’t get a good look at the book the kid held before it was tucked away in a backpack that Henry left on the couch.

“Hi Henry, I’m Neal, but apparently you know that already.” He filled two glasses with water, and added a couple of cubes of ice to each. “What else do you know about me?”

“I know that you were in Arizona eleven years ago.” The kid calmly sipped his water. Neal almost dropped his.

“Arizona?” He needed that beer he’d told the kid he couldn’t have.

“That’s where I was born. I know my mom’s name is Emma Swan, but I haven’t found her yet. Your name’s on my birth certificate too, so you’re my dad, right?”

“Arizona?” Emma. Emma had a kid. He had a kid. Emma had been pregnant and he’d left and… “You don’t know Emma?”

“Not yet. She put me up for adoption and I grew up in a town called Storybrooke. I’ll explain but it’s kind of a long story and you might find it weird. Maybe we should go get some pizza and you can get sort of used to having a kid before I drop the rest of it on you? I’m hungry; it’s a long bus ride from Maine and I was too nervous to eat much breakfast.” He smiled again, Henry, the son he and Emma had apparently created together, and Neal knew why it looked so familiar. Emma had smiled at him like that, years ago.

“Isn’t your family going to be worried about you?” Some other woman had raised Emma’s child, kissed his forehead and tucked him into bed. He’d seen Emma with a fake belly, but she’d had the real thing and he hadn’t been there. And she’d had to give up her kid. Their kid.

“It’s complicated. First I need to explain to you about fairytales.”

“Fairytales?” Shit. Forget the beer, he was going to need something harder.


End file.
